Now Commenting On:

Phillies select two players in Rule 5 Draft

Outfielder Ender Inciarte was selected by the Phillies in the major league portion of baseball’s annual Rule 5 Draft, Director of Professional Scouting Mike Ondo announced today.

Inciarte, 22, was the Phillies’ lone selection in the 1st round (15th overall) of the major league portion from the Arizona Diamondbacks organization. The left-handed hitting center fielder split the 2012 season between single-A South Bend and single-A Visalia, where he combined to hit .307 with 28 doubles, 10 triples, 47 RBI, 82 runs scored and 46 stolen bases.

Originally signed as an amateur free agent by the Diamondbacks on May 25, 2008, Inciarte, a native of Maracaibo, Venezuela, has batted .283 with 81 doubles, 23 triples, 135 RBI, 260 runs scored and 111 stolen bases in 456 career games. He was named Midwest League Player of the Week on April 23, 2012, and was selected as a Midwest League midseason All-Star in 2011.

The Phillies also selected left-handed pitcher Brendan Lafferty of the Kansas City Royals organization in the minor league portion of the draft.

Lafferty, 26, went 1-1 with a 4.77 ERA in 43 relief appearances with double-A Northwest Arkansas in 2012. He struck out 71 batters in 60.1 innings while holding left-handed hitters to a .143 average.

Selected by the Royals in the 18th round of the 2009 draft out of UCLA, Lafferty has gone 14-8 with a 3.80 ERA in 122 career games with 248 strikeouts in 265.1 innings. The Riverside, Calif., native was originally selected by the Phillies in the 47th round of the 2004 draft, but did not sign.